Scarlet stood there, at the end of her walkway, staring. She could hardly believe it. There, standing on the sidewalk, just a few feet away, staring back with his intense grey eyes, was the new boy. Sage.What was he doing here, in front of her house? How long had he been standing here? Had he been watching her house? Had he been about to head up her walkway? Or had he just been passing by?But passing by where? She lived on a quiet suburban street, and hardly anyone ever walked around here. Then again, she was only two blocks to town, and conceivably, he could be heading somewhere. But that was unlikely.The thought of him standing there, watching her house, or about to walk up, freaked her out. On the other hand, she couldn’t deny that she was excited to see him. Excited wasn’t the right word. It was more like…transfixed. She could not take her eyes off of him. His smooth skin, his strong jaw, his proud cheekbones and nose, his gray eyes, long eyelashes—she had never met anyone re
Still shaken from her encounter with Sage, Scarlet walked into her house lost in her own world.She was snapped out of it rudely as she walked right into the middle of her parents’ arguing. She couldn’t believe it. In all her life, she never remembered them arguing and now that was all they did; she felt a pang of guilt, wondering if it had to do with her. She couldn’t help shake the feeling that something bad had started in all of their lives, something that wouldn’t go away, and which seemed to be escalating, day by day. And she couldn’t help feeling as if it were all her fault.“You’re taking this way too far,” Caleb screamed at Caitlin behind the closed door. “Seriously. What’s gotten into you?”“What’s gotten into you?” Caitlin shot back. “You were always in my corner, always took my side. Now, it’s like you’re in denial.”“Denial?” he shot back.Scarlet couldn’t take it anymore. As if her day wasn’t bad enough—having to listen to this was putting her over the edge. She just
Scarlet got to school early, for the first time in ages. The halls hadn’t filled up yet, and it was a ghost town as she walked to her locker. She was used to coming in late, to the place being packed, but today, after her nightmare, she felt too antsy to sit around the house and wait. She’d also checked her Facebook and Twitter and saw the ridiculous amount of activity as a result of Vivian and her friends posting about her, and was so anxious about how the school might react, she felt coming in early might somehow help fend it off. At least by getting here early, she felt somewhat grounded, somewhat prepared.Although of course she knew that would do no good. Soon these halls would fill with an overwhelming number of kids, and they would cluster in groups, outnumber her, and look and whisper. Including, maybe, Blake. She wondered what he might have told everyone about their date. Did he tell them everything that happened? Did he tell them that she was some kind of freak?The thought
Scarlet’s first period class was filled with about thirty kids, everyone scrambling to take their seats. The desks were lined up single file in three neat rows of ten, while to the side of the room were long wooden tables, benches beneath them. She scanned the room and saw with relief that Sage wasn’t in it; at least that was one less drama to deal with today.“Where is he?” Maria asked, dejected. “Figures.”It was English, Scarlet’s favorite class. Normally, she’d be happy to be here, especially because Mr. Sparrow was her favorite teacher, and especially because this term they were studying Shakespeare and her favorite play: Romeo and Juliet.But as she slumped into her seat, in the row next to Maria, she felt deflated. Apathetic. She could hardly concentrate on Shakespeare. The class quieted, and she took out her books by rote and stared at the page, in a daze.“Today’s going to be a little different,” Mr. Sparrow announced.Scarlet looked up, happy to hear the sound of his voi
Scarlet walked with her mom down the cobblestone pathway to the church’s front door, feeling self-conscious. She had never been to church before, even though it was just two blocks from her house, and she didn’t want any of her friends to see her walking up to it now. The church was so conspicuous, right on main street in the middle of town; she lowered her baseball cap, which she’d snatched off the coat rack at the last second, hoping nobody saw her. It wasn’t that she thought there was anything wrong with going to church—it was just that it just wasn’t her. It wasn’t her family. She thought it would be weird for some of her friends or neighbors to suddenly see her walking with her mom to church in the middle of the day. After all, why would anyone do that? Unless something was wrong with the family.But she knew that going to church would make her mom happy, and for some weird reason, she sort of looked forward to it, too, given how unsettled she was feeling these days. She wouldn’t
Scarlet opened her eyes to see her mom looking down on her. She blinked several times, as she slowly came into focus. Her mom looked down in concern. On her other side her dad stood over her, too, also looking down with concern.Scarlet looked around and realized she was lying in her bed, in her bedroom. She glanced out the window, and saw it was night, and looked over, and saw her clock blinked 9 PM. She wondered how she got here. She tried to piece it all together, but it was hazy. It freaked her out that her parents were in here. What were they doing here, in her bedroom, looking at her like that?“Scarlet, are you okay honey?” her mom asked with concern.Scarlet checked in with her body and realized she felt totally fine. She just couldn’t figure out how she got here.Scarlet sat up in bed.“What happened?”“Do you remember?” her mom asked. “The church?”Church. Scarlet thought back, and started to remember. She recalled going to church with her mom, talking to that priest.
Caitlin sat there in her living room, in a daze, feeling the world spinning out of control beneath her. More and more, she felt as if she were living in a dream, far removed from reality, trying to grasp hold of the events happening around her. Some days, she felt as if she were losing her mind.That episode in the church was real. It was very, very real. Those blown-out candles, those shattered windows, were the first tangible thing she could point to to prove to herself that she was not crazy. That her daughter was a vampire. Even the priest had fled. For once, her fears had been confirmed by someone else.That was all she needed. Now, finally, she felt confident in herself, felt certain about what was happening to Scarlet. Regardless of what Caleb, or anyone else thought, she was more determined than ever to save her daughter before it was too late.Caleb paced their living room in a manic state, talking to one person after the next on his cell. She had never seen him so worried.
Scarlet’s heart beat with excitement as they pulled up to Sage’s mansion. He had driven her here from the party, and she recalled the shocking moment when she’d first seen his car: a black Lamborghini. She’d never seen one before. As she had sat in it, sinking into the hard, leather seats, so low to the ground, she couldn’t help feeling as if her life were becoming more and more surreal.She had never met anyone who had owned a car like this—and in fact, had never met a boy who seemed as mature and ageless—and mysterious—as Sage. Everything he did just made him more mysterious. Every question she had just led to more questions. How could it be that he was driving a Lamborghini? Was he that wealthy?They had barely spoken during the drive, which only deepened the sense of mystery.He’d driven her down familiar village streets, then made a few unfamiliar terms, taking her down roads she rarely drove on in all her time growing up here. The roads twisted and turned and before she knew i